Scammers try to pass off foreclosed homes as rentals

Chris Savage stands outside of a home at 935 Fruitland Road. His family thought the three-bedroom, two-bath home listed on Trulia.com was a great bargain for $800 a month, but Savage became suspicious when he learned the "homeowner" was quick to make a deal from Nigeria. Savage learned that the property was actually foreclosed on last year.

Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 17, 2014 at 7:57 p.m.

It sounded like the perfect rental home for Chris Savage, his wife and their 3-year-old daughter: a three-bedroom, two-bath abode with bay windows overlooking rolling acres of peaceful pasture land. It offered wide porches for watching sunsets and a fireplace for keeping warm on crisp winter nights.

“My daughter, she was running around here. She was in love with the place,” he said. “We were ready to move in.”

It was listed on Trulia.com for $800 a month, but it was too good to be true. The property, at 935 Fruitland Road, fell into foreclosure in December. It's up for bid, but it was never up for rent. And the guy who claimed to own it wasn't transferred to Nigeria for missionary work like he said.

The rental listing was a scam, a newer version of one that has ensnared victims across the nation since the early 1980s. It was a first for the Henderson County Sheriff's Office.

“This is kind of a new one here,” said Chief Deputy Frank Stout, but he added that it “falls in line” with other scams they've seen affecting the area recently. Officers are is encouraging people to be “extra careful” and suspicious of any dealings with unknown individuals who ask for money to be wired out of the United States and to Africa, especially.

“Anytime that anybody is trying to get you to wire money ahead without a contract, do not do it,” Stout said. If they say they are from Nigeria, he added, “run, run, run” the other way.

Savage started to see red flags right away. The “owner,” who went by the name of Sheldon Hopkins, wanted to text more than talk and when Savage did get him on the phone, the “guy had a thick accent.” Savage said the “owner” couldn't show him the house because he was transferred to Nigeria for three to six years for mission work, but was anxious to move someone in who would take care of the property.

“The first thing he asked was 'when can you move in?'” said Savage's wife, Lily Carpenter.

“He didn't want background” about us, Savage said. “He was just ready to mail us the keys. He was ready to rent it.”

He said Hopkins offered to mail him the keys and rental agreement paperwork as soon as he received an $800 deposit, which he asked to be wired to him in Lagos, Nigeria via Western Union. Huge red flag.

Savage started investigating the property and found that it was in foreclosure — a piece of information never offered by the mysterious Mr. Hopkins. Had his family taken the bait and moved in, they would have been squatters on bank-owned property.

“The house, when we saw it was $800 and when we pulled up, we thought it can't be true, but a part of me thought, well, maybe it is and maybe we should jump on it before somebody else does,” Savage said. “Then when they said Western Union, obviously it was like, no way. We just don't want somebody else to send their money out like to somebody like that. A lot of people work hard for their money.”

Stout called the bizarre deal a “false, inaccurate, total scam.”

He was familiar with the family that once lived in the house and knew they weren't serving as missionaries in Africa.

“These guys are shopping the foreclosure sites and trying to rook somebody,” Stout said. “They are ruthless and have no scruples” about hurting hardworking people.

Abandoned foreclosure properties have been popping up for rent on sites such as Craigslist, Trulia, HotPads and Zillow with abundance, but the houses aren't actually for rent and the owners know nothing about the listings.

Korina Buhler, a public relations manager for Trulia, said, “We have heard and seen similar cases — not in Hendersonville but in other parts of the U.S. — and work very hard to prevent fraudulent listings like what happened to the family in Hendersonville.”

In addition to manning a team charged with double-checking listings, she said, they work to “verify that people posting rental properties have a U.S. phone number and are using a U.S. IP address to post on Trulia.”

Buhler said they also offer a “fraud warning posted for each listing that outlines the most common types of fraud and provides a way for users to flag the listing.”

The warning advises renters to “Avoid rental scams! Situations involving wire transfers or a landlord who is currently traveling and can't meet you in person can be rental red flags. If you think you've found a scam, please hit the 'Report error' button above and tell us!”

“It's not really a new scam, just a variation of an old one,” according to a 2009 news release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “The so-called 419 scheme (named after the Nigerian penal code section under which this particular kind of fraud is prosecuted) has been around since the early 1980s. The common thread running through these kinds of scams? The victims are solicited by Nigerian criminals to transfer money out of the U.S. and into the criminals' pockets... usually by being promised something in return. And these schemes are profitable, costing victims millions of dollars annually.

“In South Carolina, the rental scam problem has become so prevalent that Columbia FBI Special Agent in Charge David Thomas recently issued a warning about it to homeowners and prospective renters, particularly in the Charleston, Columbia and Hilton Head areas. The scam has also ensnared victims in Rhode Island, Illinois, Colorado, and California, among other states,” according to the release.

In the scam, criminals scour websites that list homes for sale, snatching profiles, photos and addresses to list them as their own properties and post them on other sites.

“An interested party will contact the 'homeowner' via e-mail, who usually explains that he or she had to leave the U.S. quickly because of some missionary or contract work in Africa,” according to the release. “Victims are usually instructed to send money overseas — enough to cover the first and last month's rent — via a wire transfer service because the crooks know it can't be traced once it gets picked up on the other end.

“Renters might sometimes be asked to fill out credit applications asking for personal information like credit history, Social Security numbers, and work history. The Nigerian crooks can then use this info to commit identity fraud and steal even more money from their victims,” according to the release.

The FBI offers the following tips for renters to avoid being victimized:

• Only deal with landlords or renters who are local;

• Be suspicious if you're asked to only use a wire transfer service;

• Beware of e-mail correspondence from the “landlord” that's written in poor or broken English;

• Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower;

<p>It sounded like the perfect rental home for Chris Savage, his wife and their 3-year-old daughter: a three-bedroom, two-bath abode with bay windows overlooking rolling acres of peaceful pasture land. It offered wide porches for watching sunsets and a fireplace for keeping warm on crisp winter nights.</p><p>“My daughter, she was running around here. She was in love with the place,” he said. “We were ready to move in.”</p><p>It was listed on Trulia.com for $800 a month, but it was too good to be true. The property, at 935 Fruitland Road, fell into foreclosure in December. It's up for bid, but it was never up for rent. And the guy who claimed to own it wasn't transferred to Nigeria for missionary work like he said. </p><p>The rental listing was a scam, a newer version of one that has ensnared victims across the nation since the early 1980s. It was a first for the Henderson County Sheriff's Office. </p><p>“This is kind of a new one here,” said Chief Deputy Frank Stout, but he added that it “falls in line” with other scams they've seen affecting the area recently. Officers are is encouraging people to be “extra careful” and suspicious of any dealings with unknown individuals who ask for money to be wired out of the United States and to Africa, especially. </p><p>“Anytime that anybody is trying to get you to wire money ahead without a contract, do not do it,” Stout said. If they say they are from Nigeria, he added, “run, run, run” the other way.</p><p>Savage started to see red flags right away. The “owner,” who went by the name of Sheldon Hopkins, wanted to text more than talk and when Savage did get him on the phone, the “guy had a thick accent.” Savage said the “owner” couldn't show him the house because he was transferred to Nigeria for three to six years for mission work, but was anxious to move someone in who would take care of the property. </p><p>“The first thing he asked was 'when can you move in?'” said Savage's wife, Lily Carpenter.</p><p>“He didn't want background” about us, Savage said. “He was just ready to mail us the keys. He was ready to rent it.”</p><p>He said Hopkins offered to mail him the keys and rental agreement paperwork as soon as he received an $800 deposit, which he asked to be wired to him in Lagos, Nigeria via Western Union. Huge red flag.</p><p>Savage started investigating the property and found that it was in foreclosure — a piece of information never offered by the mysterious Mr. Hopkins. Had his family taken the bait and moved in, they would have been squatters on bank-owned property.</p><p>“The house, when we saw it was $800 and when we pulled up, we thought it can't be true, but a part of me thought, well, maybe it is and maybe we should jump on it before somebody else does,” Savage said. “Then when they said Western Union, obviously it was like, no way. We just don't want somebody else to send their money out like to somebody like that. A lot of people work hard for their money.”</p><p>Stout called the bizarre deal a “false, inaccurate, total scam.”</p><p>He was familiar with the family that once lived in the house and knew they weren't serving as missionaries in Africa.</p><p>“These guys are shopping the foreclosure sites and trying to rook somebody,” Stout said. “They are ruthless and have no scruples” about hurting hardworking people.</p><p>Abandoned foreclosure properties have been popping up for rent on sites such as Craigslist, Trulia, HotPads and Zillow with abundance, but the houses aren't actually for rent and the owners know nothing about the listings.</p><p>Korina Buhler, a public relations manager for Trulia, said, “We have heard and seen similar cases — not in Hendersonville but in other parts of the U.S. — and work very hard to prevent fraudulent listings like what happened to the family in Hendersonville.”</p><p>In addition to manning a team charged with double-checking listings, she said, they work to “verify that people posting rental properties have a U.S. phone number and are using a U.S. IP address to post on Trulia.”</p><p>Buhler said they also offer a “fraud warning posted for each listing that outlines the most common types of fraud and provides a way for users to flag the listing.”</p><p>The warning advises renters to “Avoid rental scams! Situations involving wire transfers or a landlord who is currently traveling and can't meet you in person can be rental red flags. If you think you've found a scam, please hit the 'Report error' button above and tell us!”</p><p>“It's not really a new scam, just a variation of an old one,” according to a 2009 news release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “The so-called 419 scheme (named after the Nigerian penal code section under which this particular kind of fraud is prosecuted) has been around since the early 1980s. The common thread running through these kinds of scams? The victims are solicited by Nigerian criminals to transfer money out of the U.S. and into the criminals' pockets... usually by being promised something in return. And these schemes are profitable, costing victims millions of dollars annually.</p><p>“In South Carolina, the rental scam problem has become so prevalent that Columbia FBI Special Agent in Charge David Thomas recently issued a warning about it to homeowners and prospective renters, particularly in the Charleston, Columbia and Hilton Head areas. The scam has also ensnared victims in Rhode Island, Illinois, Colorado, and California, among other states,” according to the release.</p><p>In the scam, criminals scour websites that list homes for sale, snatching profiles, photos and addresses to list them as their own properties and post them on other sites.</p><p>“An interested party will contact the 'homeowner' via e-mail, who usually explains that he or she had to leave the U.S. quickly because of some missionary or contract work in Africa,” according to the release. “Victims are usually instructed to send money overseas — enough to cover the first and last month's rent — via a wire transfer service because the crooks know it can't be traced once it gets picked up on the other end.</p><p>“Renters might sometimes be asked to fill out credit applications asking for personal information like credit history, Social Security numbers, and work history. The Nigerian crooks can then use this info to commit identity fraud and steal even more money from their victims,” according to the release.</p><p>The FBI offers the following tips for renters to avoid being victimized:</p><p>&bull; Only deal with landlords or renters who are local;</p><p>&bull; Be suspicious if you're asked to only use a wire transfer service;</p><p>&bull; Beware of e-mail correspondence from the “landlord” that's written in poor or broken English;</p><p>&bull; Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower;</p><p>&bull; Don't give out personal information, like social security, bank account, or credit card numbers. </p><p>____</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>